President Donald Trump of the United States expressed his sympathy for the British royal family on Sunday after King Charles removed his brother Andrew's status as prince due to growing criticism regarding Andrew's connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
When questioned about Charles behavior, Trump said, "It's a terrible thing that's happened to the family," to reporters on Air Force One. "It's unfortunate that the situation has become sad. I really feel sorry for the family.
In an effort to disassociate himself from the royal family due to his involvement in the Epstein scandal, Buckingham Palace revealed on Thursday that Charles had deprived Andrew, 65, of his title of prince and ejected him from his Windsor residence. In contemporary British history, it was one of the most dramatic actions taken against a member of the royal family.
Trump, a former buddy of the disgraced financier, has had his own problems as a result of the financier's demise. Democrats and some Republicans have demanded that his administration make public government documents pertaining to the Epstein case.
Trump has stated that he had a falling out with the infamous billionaire long before Epstein's 2019 death in jail while awaiting trial on allegations of sexually assaulting many adolescent girls, but admitting that he had known Epstein socially years prior. Epstein has been accused of abusing hundreds of women.
A birthday note that Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein over 20 years ago was made public by Democrats in the US House of Representatives in September. The White House disputes the authenticity of the letter, which included the sentence "May every day be another wonderful secret."
